It Was Just a Card
by alex-of-macedonia
Summary: Beca is surprised to receive a Valentine's Card from Aubrey. It means she wants to be friends, now, right?


**Disclaimer: I do not own characters from Pitch Perfect.**

* * *

It was just a card. Cards are given to everyone at some point; they don't necessarily mean anything more than a friendly gesture. So what if it's Valentine's Day?

Beca stared at the red envelope, the environmentally-friendly greeting card made from recycled card stock, and the carefully perfect handwritten message on the inside, just underneath a cute picture of a dancing dog holding a heart.

'Happy Valentine's Day, Beca  
xox, Aubrey'

She had expected a card from Chloe, not Aubrey. As far as everyone knew, Aubrey still couldn't stand Beca. They had made up enough to pull together and win the ICCA's last spring, but Beca didn't think either of them considered the other as an actual friend. They tolerated each other at best when hanging out with Chloe, who was their mutual best friend. Things hadn't really changed since Chloe took a job in Seattle, leaving both Aubrey and Beca behind at Barden.

With her gone, the former Bellas captain seemed to drop by their rehearsals more often - just to make sure Beca wasn't running the group into the ground, was the snippy answer Beca would receive. Despite how they fought though, Beca couldn't help but appreciate the blonde's presence. It was almost soothing, knowing she had someone she could still ask when she needed help. The DJ could only do so much with a set, and that was the music end. She sucked at choreography, and the rest of the Bellas weren't too much better. Chloe had helped initially, but after she moved, Aubrey took over full-time. They still sometimes butted heads, but… Well, this card must be a sign that they could be moving closer to a real friendship, right?

The envelope only said her name, and it had been propped up on Beca's laptop when she got back to her dorm after class, which meant Aubrey had taken the time to walk over and get her roommate to let her in. That took effort. Aubrey Posen doesn't do anything with effort unless it means something to her.

But a card is just a card. Right?

Beca picked up her cell phone and hovered over the button to call Aubrey. Should she thank her for it? Should she pretend she never got it so they could continue their weird but comfortable dynamic? She set her shoulders and hit 'call'.

It only rang twice before Beca heard the other woman pick up. "Aubrey Posen speaking."

"Hey, it's Beca. I just wanted to thank you for the card. It was… sweet."

"Oh. Yeah, you're welcome. I… um. Good. I'm glad you saw it. I have to go though. See you at rehearsal tonight. Bye," and before Beca could stop her, the line went dead.

'Weird' was the only adjective she could think of to describe this whole day so far, but she shrugged it off. She needed a shower and food before meeting the rest of the group at the auditorium.

—

As usual, Beca was the second person to arrive for rehearsal. She always went an hour early so she could write the day's instructions on the board, maybe play around with some mixes on her laptop to get the right feel for their sets. Aubrey was always there before her, mapping out choreography on the other side of the whiteboard. It was comfortable; a routine.

Today, however, Aubrey was sitting in the bottom row of the bleachers, staring into nothing. She only acknowledged Beca's presence when the brunette walked directly into her view. "Oh, hey. I didn't hear you come in."

Beca couldn't shake the feeling that the other woman was acting weird. Her posture was stiffer than usual, her blonde hair was pulled into a haphazard ponytail, and her eyes were unfocused. With a concerned look on her face, Beca sat in the chair next to Aubrey and lightly placed her hand on her arm. "Hey, are you okay? You seem really out of it."

Aubrey didn't move away from her touch like Beca thought she would. Instead, she looked into Beca's face, her eyes focusing. "Yeah, I — I'll be okay. It's just… I'm feeling alone today. Abandoned. Today is usually a date night for me and Chloe, and—"

Beca blinked. "Woah. I didn't know you were dating. I'm sorry that I wasn't checking on you to make sure you were handling her move okay."

"What? No. We weren't a couple. Chloe just dates all these other people every day of the year, and I'm always single, so it became a tradition for us to go out to dinner together on Valentine's. A friend date."

Beca sighed inwardly with relief. At least she didn't suck completely as a friend.

As Aubrey went back to looking at nothing in particular - and kind of sad - the DJ had an idea. "What if you and I go out tonight?"

"Aca-scuse me?" The blonde's head jerked back to Beca.

"Well, I could take Chloe's place, and we can go get food and maybe a movie—"

Aubrey jumped out of her seat. "No. That's not happening." She hurriedly walked over to the whiteboard to start drawing dance steps.

"Woah, okay. Sorry for asking," Beca muttered. She got up and went to the table where she started setting up her laptop. A few minutes passed by, and after hitting play on her latest mix to try and catch any weird tones or segues, she looked over at Aubrey. She was still writing on the board, and she still looked like her mind was elsewhere.

Sighing, because she didn't know what she was supposed to do to help, she crossed the room and put her hand on Aubrey's shoulder. She flinched at the touch and spun around.

"What?! I'm fine."

"Dude, you're everything but fine right now. Can I help at all? Do you need to talk to someone?"

"What do you even care? I'm not your precious redhead. I know you don't actually care about me," the older woman's voice wavered.

Beca felt helpless, and thought, 'what would Chloe do right now?' So she tried to hug the blonde, but again she shied away from her touch.

"Stop, okay? Please don't touch me. I can't— I just can't."

"What the hell is wrong, Aubrey? I'm just trying to be a friend here!"

Tears glistened in sea-green eyes. "Just stop pretending that you care! I know you love Chloe, not —" she caught herself and immediately stopped speaking, and stood there, staring down at her shoes. Beca took a step forward and lifted her chin with her hand.

"I'm not in love with Chloe. Just to put that out there. We're good friends; that's it. But… Were you gonna say 'me'? Were you saying you think I love Chloe, not you?" Aubrey nodded. "Why would you care who I love?" The taller woman tried looking away, but Beca held on to her chin. "Talk to me," she said quietly.

Before Beca could react, Aubrey grabbed her head with both hands and smashed her lips against hers. It was over before Beca knew what was happening.

Embarrassed, Aubrey turned back to the board, but didn't start writing again. She murmured something that the DJ didn't catch.

"What was that?"

Aubrey sighed. "I said I care because I'm in love with you. I'm sorry for kissing you like that."

"The kiss was okay; don't apologize for it."

"But you don't like me. I already know you don't. So I'm sorry for doing that anyway."

Beca grabbed the older woman's arm and forced her to turn back to face her. "I never said I didn't. I mean, I don't really know how I feel, but I've just never thought about it before. That's all."

Aubrey looked like she didn't believe her, so Beca took another step toward her. Their faces were inches apart, and Beca's head started swimming. How DID she feel about this woman? She honestly had never put much thought into it.

She studied Aubrey's face, her hair, her slender arms. Deciding that she didn't NOT like Aubrey that way, she put her hands on either side of her face and started to pull her in.

"Beca Mitchell, I aca-swear I'll have wolves rip out your throat if you're teasing me." The rest of her threats were stopped by Beca kissing her, gently at first.

This was nicer than the last kiss she'd had. Jesse was all teeth and spit, and it felt like kissing her cousins. This was … very nice. When Aubrey licked her bottom lip, she granted her access. Yes, this kiss was much nicer, and not at all like kissing a family member. They were tangling their hands in each others' hair, and Aubrey began sliding one hand under Beca's shirt to touch her stomach. After several minutes, Beca pulled away, at which Aubrey made a noise that was half-whine, half-growl.

"Sorry, I needed to catch my breath," Beca panted.

"The Bellas will probably be here any minute, too." Aubrey took one of the brunette's earlobes between her teeth, pulled down, and then licked up the shell to whisper hotly into her friend's ear, "Let's take this back to my apartment. I want you, if you'll have me."

Another deep kiss was her answer.

* * *

The Bellas all showed up ten minutes later to find a giant note on the whiteboard reading, "PRACTICE CANCELED. ENJOY YOUR NIGHT OFF."

Stacie leaned over to Cynthia Rose and whispered, "You think they're finally doing it?" The African-American woman could only laugh and nod.


End file.
